Tuesday, August 12, 2014

"I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.
Albert Einstein.

I like this quote because I feel that too many teachers place too much emphasis on teaching, rather than creating learners. This is why I chose to focus my advocacy on the importance of play in the classroom.

I am excited about this advocacy plan because I feel that I can be the voice for the children. I think that I can create enough information regarding the benefits of play in the classroom. In my center specifically our teachers create worksheets and learning lessons which in turn frustrates many of the children. I have heard some teachers mention the words "I think these children have TO much time to play if you ask me, and not enough learning." I think that I can be the voice to let these teachers understand that play and learning and not separate ideas, but play can be learning.

I am worried about the parents mostly, and reaching them. Center care is rather expensive, and there is a Christian preschool that we lose many children to, and mostly because they believe they are learning, and our center is just for play. Therefore the worksheets that are provided is their evidence that learning actually takes place. I also worry that I would not execute the advocacy effort because I believe if it is not executed correctly, failure is possible.

I think having confidence in my efforts and ideas is necessary. If I lose confidence the plan will not be executed effectively. At this point I am pretty confident that I am implement my plan., and through future research and planning, I will be able to execute the plan of action.

I would encourage others by letting them know that if you truly believe in something, give it your all because the one voice that can speak up, must be a firm voice.

3 comments:

What a great quote! That is so true for early childhood education. We provide the children the environment and tools to succeed. The children use the environment and tools to be creative and learn from them. I wish you luck with your advocacy. I understand the worksheet thing. I think some teachers feel that they need to do the worksheets so that they have something to send home with the children for the parents to see. How about taking pictures of their children's learning in action to send home, put on a website or in a blog instead. My experiences with worksheets are that of frustration too and/or rushing through them just so that they can go play. They are not learning anything from them!

Hi Tina,I was a child care director for ten years and we often had parents that would say all I see my child do is play. From their perspective this was true, because during drop-off and pick-up times the children played in open centers. To combat this notion I started scheduling parent orientations at the beginning of each school year to inform our parents of our policies, procedures, daily schedules, learning stations and student assessments. I would also provide them with a sample lesson plan and explain how our teachers plan preschool activities and learning stations from 9:00-11:30 AM each day. The learning stations were specific learning activities that the children would be able to engage through play. These activities had learning objectives that would strengthen the children's physical, intellectual, emotional, cognitive and social skills. We would invite the parents to come observe during this time. The teachers also conducted intake assessments, mid-year assessments and end of the year assessments on each child to show the parents how their child's skills increased throughout the school year. After the mid-year assessments were conducted the teachers would have a conference the parents to discuss their child's progress and any delays they may have noticed. They would outline their plan to continue to help the child progress throughout the remainder of the year. Parent education is key if you want them to understand the importance of play.

Hi Tins,I am a true believer that children learn through play. The quote that you cited is so true, that we set the stage for children to learn by providing them with the materials that will take them there. When i conduct a parent meeting at the beginning of the year to explain to the parents the reasoning behind the classroom setup and the centers. I explain the concepts that the children learn why engaging in certain areas. After the meeting parents always say that they never knew, and will encourage their children to participate in this type of play at home. Good luck to you in your advocacy efforts.